The Feather Duster Chronicles
by MessrsAidingMischief
Summary: Harry has returned to Hogwarts for his final year, but now he's faced with two issues. Helping Andromeda raise his godson, and the getting-more-attractive-every-second Draco Malfoy. Can purple socks, year-wide sleepovers,and dinosaur underwear help?
1. Welcome Back

**Guess who's back? Well I'm here with my new story, concerning two of our favourite boys; Draco and Harry. I need to preface this with warnings of smut in later chapters, bad language and very adorable sock monsters. Also, Fred survived the battle of Hogwarts because I can't stand him being dead. Otherwise this follows the books up until the epilogue. Enjoy!**

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><p>The return of the 'eighth year' students to Hogwarts had been McGonagall's idea. She had stepped forward as Headmistress of Hogwarts at the end of the war and had overseen it's rebuilding, but had made it clear to Kingsley that he would have to find a new Headteacher once the eighth years had left. She was there only because she wanted to see the completion of their education, and once they had obtained their NEWTs she would be retiring. It was an optional year, of course, and many students had opted to go straight into the many opportunities being offered by the Ministry. Others though, the ones who weren't sure what they wanted to do, or who just wanted a year to be children before they had to become men and women in the world of work, had returned.<p>

They shared classes with the seventh years, but the eighth years had their own common room and dormitories- the unused offices near the library having been cleared out and reconstructed for them. There were so few students in each house for the year that the boys all shared one dorm, and the girls another. This was something many of the professors had been apprehensive about considering this meant Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter would be sharing sleeping quarters, but the boys had yet to hex each other too badly- the minor incidents involving hair dye and Weasley Wizard Wheezes' products being used to irritate one another rather than kill or severely injure. That being said, they'd only been back for two weeks.

xoxoxox

"Honestly Harry I don't see how you can't be concerned, Ron is your best friend!"  
>"I know Hermione."<br>"He's been acting so weird lately, I mean did you hear his excuse for why he didn't get back to the dorm until three the other morning? He wanted a _walk_. Since when does he go for secret late night walks?"  
>"Really Hermione I don't think it's anything to worry about."<br>"He's seeing Lavender again isn't he? Oh Merlin Harry if he is you have to tell me, I promise I wont be angry with you I just need to know."  
>Harry groaned as they arrived at the entrance to the common room, barely acknowleding Parvarti as she went scuttling past. "Will you please listen to me Hermione? Ron isn't cheating on you. He isn't seeing Lavender. He's very much in love with you and I promise if I find out he's seeing anyone else I'll hex his balls off myself, but I can honestly tell you that you have NOTHING to worry about!"<p>

"There's no need to raise your voice!" Hermione scowled, crossing her arms and stalking to the girls' dorm, disappearing with a final glare in his direction. Normally Harry would have been frustrated, but he could hardly blame his friend for her quick temper on matters concerning her boyfriend. Ron had been behaving in a very secretive manner recently, but it was because he was working up the nerve to ask Hermione to marry him. It might have seemed soon to most people, but then most people hadn't been friends for as long as those two had, or as in love either. He'd have to remember to give Ron a shout about being extra nice to Hermione though, the last thing he wanted was to get caught in the middle of another blazing row between the two.

"Lovers' tiff Potter?" Malfoy drawled from one of the chairs near the fireplace, causing Harry's upper lip to curl. Since returning to Hogwarts- cleared of all charges thanks to Harry's testimony on Draco and Narcissa's behalf, although Lucius was serving an undefined term in Azkaban- Malfoy had refrained from being alone in the same room as him.  
>Hermione had explained it as Malfoy feeling like he owed something to Harry for saving himself and his mother from Azkaban, but Harry preferred Ron's decision that it was because ' the bloody ferret doesn't have the balls to say thanks'. Either way, as Harry cast a quick glance around the room to double check, the boys were alone now.<p>

"Piss off Malfoy," Harry snapped, frustrated with himself at his lack of preparation of a comeback.

"Oh yes of course I forgot, Granger's happier with her Weasel. Jealous then," Malfoy smirked. That was one thing Harry had noticed. Since his return, Malfoy had avoided using the term mudblood. Well one change for the good didn't rectify seven years of malice, Harry reminded himself.

"Shouldn't you be having it off with Parkinson in the broom cupboard?"

"Don't you listen to any of the gossip in this place Potter?" Malfoy said with a roll of his eyes, unfolding himself from the chair and sauntering towards the dark-haired Gryffindor with a cocky look Harry was itching to wipe off of his face. "It's been going round for a week now," the blonde continued, his voice lowering as he leant in to murmur in Harry's ear. "She's lacking a certain appendage I happen to be rather fond of."

Harry stood still, processing, watching blankly as Malfoy swept out of the room and into the hall. Once the Slytherin was clear, he all but sprinted to the girl's dormitory and hammered on the door. If anyone knew what was going on, it'd be Lavender. She'd set things straight. Malfoy _couldn't_ be gay, he'd spent fifth year with his tongue shoved down Pansy's thro-oh. But wait. Harry couldn't recall ever seeing the two in any sort of compromising condition. Sure there had been the time Malfoy had had his head in her lap on the train, but he couldn't read anything into that when he _frequently_ fell asleep lying across Hermione, and sometimes Ginny.

He'd discovered his own preference after a frank discussion with Ginny post-war about the lack of spark between them- trust the redhead to realise he was gay before he did- and they had parted on amicable turns. The only downside was that now Ginny and Molly were determined to set him up with Charlie, who was good-looking and funny but not quite Harry's type. Not that he knew what his type was. Being the Saviour of the Wizarding World did tend to make dating a little more difficult, particularly when his sexuality was only known by Ron, Hermione and the other Weasleys. He'd resigned himself to the fact that until he was ready to come out, he wasn't going to have a love life. Right now though, he was going to be engulfed by squealing girls and fed more gossip than his mind would be able to handle.

xoxoxoxox

"So Malfoy's bent?" Ron snorted, flecks of half-eaten food flying out of his mouth and coating Ginny who was rather unfortunately sat opposite her brother.

"Something wrong with that?" Seamus scowled, looking pointedly at the arm Dean currently had wrapped around him. "Didn't peg you for a homophobe Ron."

"No no!" Ron yelped, eyes flickering between his friends desperately for back up. "I mean I didn't freak out when I found out about you two, or with Ha-Ow!"

"What he _means,_"Ginny cut in, retracting her heel from Ron's shin with a sweet smile before he let slip something Harry wasn't ready to have public yet, "Is that he's surprised Malfoy of all people has a liking for cock. Although I don't see why, I mean anyone with hair that shiny, and what according to Pansy is a closet of clothes to rival _Padma's,_ simply can't be straight."

Harry was becoming rather fixated by his left sock, which was peeking out from the gap between his shoe and trouser leg with the curious gaze of an infant. No, really. Theo had been in a bad mood after being woken up by Crookshanks and had decided to entertain himself by turning everyone's socks into animated little creatures with eyes. Everyone else had turned their's back, but Harry hadn't had the heart to transfigure the cute little purple creature back into a lifeless object. Maybe he could adopt it as a replacement Hedwig. Hedwig the Second, the Purple Sock Creature. It had a nice ring to it didn't it?

"Harry James Potter will you listen to me already?" Okay full naming. So he was in trouble. Hesitantly returning his attention to the group, Harry found himself being stared at by not only the original Dean, Seamus, Ron and Ginny, but that they had been joined by Lavender, Parvarti, Padma, Luna, Pansy, Hermione, Theo, Blaise, Draco, Neville, Hannah, Susan, Zacharias and Daphne. So effectively the entire eighth year (plus Ginny and Luna) were currently sat or stood around Harry, all with their gazes very firmly fixed on him. "Um. Hi?"

"You haven't heard a word we've said have you?" Daphne sighed.

"Do you want the truthful no or the long-winded excuse?"

"Okay, just listen this time. Since it's the weekend tomorrow we have decided that tonight we're turning the common room into one large fort and having an eighth year sleepover, although Luna and Ginny actually came up with the idea so they're naturally invited. You're not getting out of it. McGoogly-Eyes has been complaining about house unity so to shut her up we're going to bond, understood?"

Harry somehow didn't think the Slytherin wanted an answer. He'd learned a fair bit about his classmates in the time they'd been back at school, and it turned out Slytherins were actually pretty awesome once you got past the ice-cold exteriors. It was far too easy to forget snakes were people too. For instance, Theo and Ron had somehow formed a bond over their love of chess and could frequently be found huddled over a chessboard while Pansy and Hermione had become friends based on a mutual exchange- Pansy gave Hermione fashion tips, Hermione tutored Pansy in Charms, and somehow this had divulged into a willingness to discuss boys and books. Gradually the eighth years were integrating, so the sleepover didn't sound like a bad idea to secure some of those bonds.

Having taken his silence to mean okay, the majority of gatherers had filtered off, leaving Harry with Luna. Watching the retreating blonde-haired self-proclaimed Prince of Slytherin, Harry flinched when he turned back to Luna to find her examining him with a curious expression. "You seem distracted Harry," she hummed dreamily. "And your sock is escaping. That's an unusual pet, do you need help to capture it?"  
>"Sure, thanks Luna."<p>

The two were silent for some time as they searched for the sock – barring the odd complaint about how far a sock could possibly have gone from Harry- but they eventually found it curled up around a stair banister on the connecting stairs between the sixth and fifth floor.

"I think it's scared of heights," Luna decided, before promptly vanishing from sight.

"Because that helps me out, thanks Luna," Harry muttered, shaking his head as he sat down beside the sock. "So then, Hedwig the second. Are you going to be letting go of that banister any time soon?" The sock trembled but made no attempt to unfurl itself. "I'll take that as a nope. Well. What do you think? Should I come out to everyone? I don't think anyone here would make anything of it, not after having seen Dean and Seamus making out in the middle of the Great Hall in sixth year. So what's stopping me, hm? Malfoy's done it. If an ex-death eater can come out and not be slaughtered by the press, then why shouldn't I be able to?"

"Harry? That was a good idea, talking to the sock to calm it down," a soft voice praised, making the boy start. "I thought some toast might tempt it down."

Anyone else would have been sceptical of Luna's plan, but Harry had learned to just go with it after all these years. And as it turned out, spending an hour coaxing a purple sock down from a banister with various varieties of toast was a pretty amusing way to spend your morning- as it happens marmite and apricot jam on wholewheat was the sock in question's favourite. It became a whole lot less amusing when, sock safely contained in Harry's pocket, the two had to sprint to Transfiguration and explain exactly why they were ten minutes late.

McGonagall had luckily seemed more amused than anything, merely praising Theo on his spellwork before sending Luna and Harry to their seats.

Hedwig the Second, Harry decided, was a good listener. Now he just needed to work out how to come out to the rest of the school, and perhaps most terrifyingly of all, to Andromeda.


	2. A Blanket Fort of Truths and Dares

**Okay I'm going to try and update this as frequently as I can, so enjoy! Anyone who's curious can find me on tumblr with this username as my url, and on there you'll find my mutterings, complaints, requests for ideas and the occasional sketch and out-take of the newer scenes I'm writing. Warnings for this chapter are minor language, a game of truth or dare and the dangers of teenage girls with wands.**

**All mistakes are mine as I don't have a beta.**

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><p>The sleepover decorations Daphne had organised were quite frankly, spectacular. With Luna's help, the two girls had managed to turn the common room into what was effectively one giant blanket fort, with mattresses, pillows, duvets and sleeping bags covering every spare inch of floor. The eighth years entered the room on Saturday morning and were consequently stunned silent. There was no doubt that this sleepover was being taken <em>very <em>seriously.

Harry and Ron were the last to leave the dormitory, after Pig had decided he'd like to try and devour Hedwig the Second. Once the sock creature was settled in Harry's bedside table drawer, out of reach of miniature owls with attitude, the boys had ambled into the common room and frozen.

"Daph? This weekend sleepover. Did you mean it started this morning?"

"Of course it starts this morning Ronald, it's a weekend sleepover!"

"And you're not letting us leave the common room?"

"Not until Monday morning. You don't need to, we have a bathroom, and the house elves are bringing us food. Why are you dressed? Go change into pyjamas this instant, it's a _sleepover_," Daphne frowned, motioning for the majority of the people in the common room to return to their dormitories to change.

Once clad in what Harry hoped was satisfactory sleepwear- dark blue pyjama pants and an oversized grey t-shirt- he returned to find many of the boys sporting wide grins. While some of the girls had also opted for pyjamas, the majority were in sleep shorts and tank tops, revealing a large amount of skin. And really, they were hormonal teenage boys, Harry couldn't blame them.

Surveying the room, Harry was left three options. He could sit with one of the couples exchanging good morning kisses and feeding each other bits of cereal. He could join Susan, Hannah, Parvarti and Padma in discussing how adorable their pet pygmy puffs were. Or he could just go hide in the bathroom until Ron and Hermione were done exchanging saliva, and Luna and Ginny had returned from wherever they were hiding.

The bathroom, it turned out, was also the refuge of choice for one Draco Malfoy. Leaning against the row of sinks with far too much arrogance for a Saturday morning, he arched an eyebrow as Harry dove inside.

Harry's immediate instinct was to attack, to get the first word in before the Slytherin had chance, but before he had even opened his mouth Malfoy was raising his hands in a sign of what looked almost like... truce.

"Look Potter. We have to spend the entire weekend sharing a very small space with no hope of escape. I say we call a temporary halt to the cursing for the safety of our friends."

"That... actually sounds like a good idea," Harry said. "But that does not sound like a Malfoy idea."

"Well no, but when faced with calling a truce with you for the next 48 hours or so, or facing the wrath of Pansy, Daphne and the Weaselette I choose the truce. Don't you?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that, nodding. "Yeah alright, that I can believe. So this truce. Is it being civil, not trying to harm or humiliate one another or actually being friendly?"

"Let's try civil. And don't go getting ahead of yourself thinking we're going to be having singalongs and becoming best friends forever Potter, this is only a _temporary_ truce."

"Understood. Survive the weekend and then we can go back to torturing one another. Sounds like a plan!" Harry clapped his hands together before looking back at the door leading to the common room. "Shall we return to the death pit together?"

"After you," Malfoy offered, gesturing towards the door with a smirk.

"Alright, but if my arse gets hexed this truce is over."

The shocked atmosphere that filled the room as Harry and Draco entered the room together made the air thick with tangible tension. Catching Malfoy's gaze out of the corner of his eye, Harry mimed cutting the air with a knife and was thrilled when Malfoy grinned, although the boy swiftly covered his mouth with his hand.

Malfoys did not _laugh_ at jokes made by _Potters_. Even Harry knew that.

"Harry, are you feeling alright?" Neville asked uncertainly.

"Yes? Why, is something wrong?" Harry questioned, spinning in a circle as he attempted to examine himself. He knew he shouldn't have let Malfoy walk behind him!

"No. I mean yes. Well kind of. You and Malfoy just left a room together. And neither of you are bleeding, hexed or otherwise hurt."

"We called a truce Longbottom," Malfoy scoffed, "Ever heard of- "

He was cut off by Harry slapping his arm. Hard. "Malfoy, we agreed to be civil."

"To each other! You never said I had to be civil to Longbottom, next you'll be saying I have to be nice to the Weaselette!"

Another slap, even harder than the first. "Yes Malfoy, you have to be nice to _all_ of them. Unless you actually want Pansy, Ginny and Daphne to follow through on their threats."

Malfoy fell silent. A wise choice on his part, Harry thought, considering the girls in question were currently aiming their wands at a part of his body Harry assumed he wanted to keep.

The boys spent the majority of Saturday on opposite sides of the room, crossing paths only when they went to get food at lunch. It seemed like an excellent arrangement, but just as Harry was beginning to think this was a weekend he could survive, Pansy had to step in and ruin it.

At seven o'clock that evening, Pansy announced it was time to play a game. And as cliche as it was, the group were soon sat around in a circle preparing to play truth or dare. Somehow Hermione had been elected as the one to explain everything.

"Right, everyone knows the rules right? We go around the circle and you pick to tell a truth or to do a dare. This-" Hermione paused to gesture a large disc in the middle of the group, that looked a lot like a mirror except it was cloudy rather than clear "Has been given everyone's name. It will randomly select a person who will decide the truth or dare for the individual in question. It also has a truth detecting spell, if you lie it glows red and we punish you in any way we see fit."

Everyone eyed the mirror worriedly, but Hermione was already talking again. "Dares cannot be life-threatening. If they need to be carried out outside of this room, they must be postponed until the weekend is over. Likewise please try and avoid truths that might trigger something. Don't ask about someone's dying family member or anything like that, okay?"

There was a murmur of assent around the group, and the game began.

Harry was sat between Luna and Zacharias, and Pansy started the game. The first round was very tame, most people opted for truths, but after Blaise declared them all bores and added firewhisky to the equation, things livened up.

Occasionally the mirror would glow gold, and Hermione quickly explained that that meant the entire group would have to answer the truth question or perform the dare.

The group dares were the best, involving a chicken dance and a postponed dare to streak through the Great Hall during a meal (Hermione had looked like she was going to faint at that one).

It was inevitable that Harry and Malfoy would be paired up eventually.

"Potter, truth or dare?" Malfoy asked with a glint in his eyes.

"Truth." A collective gasp went around the room, and Ron looked ready to jump in and defend Harry if Malfoy was too outrageous.

"Your sexuality."

"What about it?" Harry muttered, heart rate rapidly increasing. This was not how he planned to come out.

"What is it?"

"Mmm-ay," the Gryffindor said, his words muffled by his top as he had sunk down into it.

"Sorry Potter, didn't get that," Malfoy chuckled, clearly delighting in Harry's discomfort.

"I said I'm gay!" Harry yelled, throwing the nearest pillow at the blonde's head.

Several of the girls squealed and giggled. "KNEW IT!" Lavender cheered. "Knew you were gay! Although you need a serious make-over. Harry we're going shopping!"

"Piss off and keep it hushed, no-one else knows yet," Harry snapped, uncharacteristically angry. He was going to slaughter Malfoy for this.

The group fell silent and then slowly nodded. "What we learn in here wont go past these walls," Ginny said firmly, meeting the eyes of every person individually to make sure they all agreed.

"Yeah, your secret's safe with us," Zacharias shrugged, nudging Harry with a friendly smile.

The game resumed, and Harry chanced a look at Malfoy. To his surprise, the Slytherin was watching him too. Realising he was caught, Harry expected the boy to look away immediately, but instead Malfoy held his gaze for a moment before turning to dare Dean.

His expression had been unreadable.

The next group truth was to tell everyone something you'd never told anyone before. There were various dull secrets, some amusing ones (finding out Hannah had harboured a crush on Snape for three years caused a giggle fit that lasted a good ten minutes) and then it was Harry's turn.

He opted for the easy answer. "When I was in first year, the sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin. It only put me in Gryffindor because I was so instant."

This was naturally met with a flurry of questions which Harry steadfastly ignored, and eventually they gave up and continued telling secrets. Malfoy's turn couldn't come fast enough for Harry, eager as he was for any and all information pertaining to the teenager –for blackmail of course, not for any other purposes despite what the little voice in the back of his head was saying.

"I like muggle games?" He volunteered, a hint of uncertainty colouring his normally confident voice. Harry winked at him as the dares began flying at the start of the next round.

Hermione had the opportunity to question Malfoy next, who rather wisely chose truth after the last person Hermione had dared had had to strip off and let three people of her choosing suck cream and syrup off various body parts.

"Do you like someone at the moment? And if you do you have to tell us who."

"That's two questions!" Malfoy protested, but Hermione was resolute.

"The mirror hasn't glowed red so it's allowed."

"You enchanted the damn thing! Of course it's not glowing red!"

"Tough. Answer the question or do the forfeit."

The forfeit was to propose to McGonagall in the next Transfiguration lesson. Naturally nobody wanted to do it.

"Yes I do," Malfoy snarled, wrapping his arms around the pillow Harry had thrown at him and was now situated in his lap.

"Well who is it?" This time it was Hannah who had spoken, and the normally tame girl was looking very flushed. It was obvious she'd had a tad too much firewhisky, or that she was simply not used to drinking.

Now it was Malfoy's turn to mumble, although he was doing so into a pillow rather than a shirt. "Rrree Ocha."

"Who?"

"Harry Potter," he whispered.

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><p><strong>Okay so what do we think? Please leave me a review, I can offer you cookies and sprinkles. <strong>


	3. A Confession

**Hey! First of all thank you all so so much for the reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate them. I feel now would be a good time to warn you I have a good number of chapters planned after this, and although I'll be back at college next week my updates should be fairly fast. Hearing people who want an update does wonders for my time by the way! **

**Warnings for this chapter; awkwardness. A lot of awkwardness. **

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><p>"<em>Harry Potter," he whispered. <em>

Forget hearing a pin drop, you could have heard air particles colliding in the suddenly much too small common room. Malfoy was buried head first in the pillow in his lap, and had flung a large number of the surrounding duvets over his body so he was effectively hidden from view.

Harry hadn't moved. Hadn't blinked. He wasn't quite sure if he was breathing.

It had to be a joke, because the Slytherin who had made his life hell since first year _could not_ like him. Not like that. Although the mirror hadn't glowed red which meant Malfoy had told the truth.

"Hermione. You asked if he liked someone right? But you, you didn't specify like as in like like, you just said like, so the mirror could have thought he meant like a friend which would be right, right?"

Yes, friendly liking was fine. He could handle friendly liking. Maybe they could be friends and go to quidditch matches and have card games and prove that deadly enemies could become friends. That'd be nice. Friends. Nice, happy, platonic _friends. _

"Harry," Hermione sighed, shaking her head slightly. "I think you know exactly what I meant when I asked that question. And so did the mirror. Malfoy li-"

"Would like everyone to stop talking about him thank you very much, Susan it's your turn right?" Came the rather frantic reply from the pile of duvets.

Well that was interesting, Harry mused. He had never seen the Slytherin to lose his composure like that before. And all it took was for Malfoy to admit that he li-

Actually no, Harry was not going to be finishing that train of thought.

The game continued, but Malfoy absolutely refused to continue playing and instead settled himself beside the fireplace with his duvets. When Harry's turn came, it was Blaise asking. Harry had to hope he would be safe with Blaise. The two had beds next to each other. Harry had helped Blaise with his Defence homework. They were... they were buddies. They were pals.

"Truth or dare Harry?"

"Truth."

Had to be truth, Blaise had dared Pansy to give Ginny a lap dance clad only in her underwear. He didn't want to be on the end of one of those dares, Gryffindor courage be damned.

"What do you think about Draco's confession of undying love?"

Blaise was a Slytherin. Fuck.

"It was _not_ a confession of undying love!"Malfoy protested from beside the fire, but the withering gaze he was attempting to aim at his so called friend wasn't proving effective. Unsurprising given he looked rather cute all buried like he was, hair rumpled and face flushed from the heat of the fire. He didn't look threatening. _Or cute you idiot, we do not call arch-rivals cute_, reprimanded Harry's inner voice.

"Harry, we're waiting."

"I guess I'm a little shocked? And confused. And bewildered. And I feel really bad that this has become so awkward for him, which is pretty stupid given said somebody made my life _miserable_ for practically our entire time here."

That last part Harry was careful to aim directly at the duvet pile.

"Do you like him back?" Pansy teased.

"Nope my turn is over, next," Harry said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Disgruntled but willing, most of the others returned to the game. Dean and Seamus had drifted out to make use of a sleeping bag and a distracted crowd, and Malfoy was still sat beside the fire. Harry returned to examining the Slytherin out of the corner of his eye until finally the game disintegrated into drunken catcalls and sniggers.

The brunette had refrained from drinking after Malfoy's confession, if only because he wanted to be sober enough to remember it in the morning. It'd make for excellent blackmail. If only he could convince his inner conscience –who chose now of all times to crop up- that that was why he was so eagerly replaying the way Malfoy had said his name in his mind. Again. And again. And again.

"SEAMUS FINNIGAN COVER YOUR ARSE!"

Theo's outraged yell roused Harry from whatever strange part of his brain he'd relocated to, just in time for him to see Theo covering his face with a groan while Seamus clambered off of Dean. In all his naked glory. Um. Okay so the Irish boy was hiding some serious muscle under those robes.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," a silky voice breathed in Harry's ear, causing him to start.

He span and found himself face to face with Malfoy, who had emerged from his duvets to sit cross-legged behind Harry. Well, originally behind, now there was barely an inch between them and their knees were almost touching. Harry was struck by how Malfoy's pupils were blown wide, encasing all of the original colour until only the faintest rim of grey remained.

The silence stretched between them for what felt like a lifetime, when in fact only a few seconds could have passed, until finally Seamus collapsed against Harry's back with a yelp, having entangled himself in his shirt. Thankfully the sandy-haired teenager had already put his pyjama pants back on.

The downside to Seamus breaking their connection in the manner that he had was that by collapsing against Harry's back, he had consequently caused Harry to double forward. And thus Harry's face was currently smushed into Malfoy's chest.

"Seamus get off me!"

Or at least, that's what Harry was attempting to say. What came out was more of a series of unintelligible grunts.

Harry was suddenly very aware of the beating of Malfoy's heart, the steady thud that was increasing at a rate he was fairly certain could cause a heart attack or something similar. Summoning all of his strength, Harry pushed back and forced Seamus off of him, gasping for air as he was finally freed.

Stumbling to his feet with as much grace as a newborn Hippogriff- that is to say, no grace at all- Harry made his way out onto the balcony leading off from the common room. He didn't want to play exploding snap or chess, he wanted some air. Some very refreshing night air that would clear his head and keep any thoughts of Draco Malfoy _out_.

Ron watched him leave and turned to Hermione, clearly about to go after him, but the girl shook her head. "Leave him be, he needs some time," she said, handing him a chocolate frog from the table currently buckling under the weight of all the sweets the house elves had brought them.

xoxoxox

"Harry."

Why was it, whenever Harry wanted to get away, someone had to follow? Someone always had to follow. He'd be complaining if they hadn't though. He'd be struck by concerns over why they didn't want to talk to him, why they didn't want to see if he was okay. Harry would be transported back to being ten years old and utterly friendless. Not tonight though. Tonight someone had come to check on him.

Only this time it wasn't Ron. It wasn't Hermione or Neville or Ginny. It wasn't even Blaise or Theo. It was the one purpose who Harry had absolutely no desire to speak to, and who had-

Wait. Wait just one second.

_Malfoy_ had called him _Harry_.

Refusing to turn, Harry pulled himself onto the wall surrounding the balcony, his legs dangling over the edge as he watched the smoke curling out of the chimney on Hagrid's hut. He was not going to turn around. He was not going to acknowledge Malfoy's presence.

"What do you want Malfoy?"

Well he made a valiant effort for the entirety of eighteen seconds.

"You ran," came the crisp reply.

Harry heard footsteps approaching him and automatically tightened his grip on the wall. He didn't trust the Slytherin not to push him off of the balcony, especially since they weren't high enough that the distance would kill Harry. Just put him in the Hospital Wing for a good few days.

Malfoy didn't push him.

Instead he too sat on the wall, back to the door of the common room, eyes fixed firmly forward on an object that wasn't there. There was a hand's width between them.

"I didn't run. I walked very quickly. Now answer my question. What do you want Malfoy?"

"To... apologise I suppose."

Harry snorted. "Malfoys don't apologise."

"Well maybe this one does. Not often, but if the occasion calls for it. Mother did instil some manners in me, even if you don't quite believe it. She was raised with Andromeda."

"She was also raised with Bellatrix."

"Well if Andromeda avoided her corruption, perhaps my Mother did as well. Not entirely, but enough to teach her respect."

"Why are you apologising Malfoy?"

"My friends were unfair. They shouldn't have forced you to play, when they knew you might hear something you didn't want to. And it appears Pansy has corrupted your friend Granger. I think you know as well as I do that Granger wouldn't have asked what she did if Pansy and her had not planned it before."

"Well in that case I should be apologising," Harry interrupted. "Hermione asked you the question. It was far more uncomfortable for you than it was me."

They started to talk at once, both insisting that they should be the ones to apologise, before finally Malfoy surrendered, throwing his hands up into the air. "Enough! Harry we're behaving like idiots. If anyone should be apologising it should be Pansy and Granger, meddling know-it-alls that they are."

"Right!" Harry agreed, and both promptly started to laugh.

Not just a minor giggle fit, they had broken into a full blown gale of laughter. What they had said wasn't even that funny, it was more the situation. Harry had made a Malfoy lose what was left of his composure, and he was enjoying every second of it. Soon the boys were clinging to one another, gasping for breath, until Malfoy managed to get himself back onto the floor of the balcony, pulling Harry with him.

"I could do without you falling, the Prophet would have a field day. Boy Who Lived Dies At Hands Of Laughing Death Eater."

"Ex-death eater," Harry corrected without thinking. "And I wouldn't die. Having to explain to Madam Pomfrey the reason I fell and got hurt though..."

Harry's hands were still knotted into Draco's shirt, and he only realised when Draco's hands came up to rest atop his own and gently untangle them. Gentle was not a word Harry would have previously associated with Draco Malfoy. And yet right now it seemed the only word to describe how he was behaving.

Dropping his hands to his side, Harry took a step back to observe the boy he had called his enemy for so many years.

He looked sad, Harry realised. Despite the smile still on his face, Draco's eyes had lost that brief sparkle the laughter had brought to them. Was it because they had mentioned his past? Or for some other reason Harry didn't yet understand?

Perhaps more importantly, Harry thought to himself, why did he care? Why did the wellbeing of Draco Malfoy matter to him? Was it because of what his friends called his hero complex? His need to have everyone safe and happy? Or because of something Harry refused to acknowledge, the reason he was so insistent in silencing the voice that constantly tugged at his heart. The voice that never seemed to stop whenever Draco was around. Only when Draco was around.

"Why did you run, Harry?" Draco repeated, voice soft.

Fuck.

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><p><strong>As always, cookies and sprinkles for people who take the time to review! And if you <em>really<em> want you can even have a pygmy puff. You have to take good care of it though!**

**Next chapter: Harry has to face up to some home truths, but what does a suprise floo call and dinosaur underwear have to do with anything?**


	4. Draco and the Dinosaur Boxers

**Told you I'd update soon! The next chapter will see the rating being changed to M so be aware of that. Thank you for the reviews, and even for reading this far!**

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><p>"<em>Why did you run, Harry?" Draco repeated, voice soft. <em>

_Fuck._

Harry was frozen to the spot, hands curled into tight fists by his side as he forced himself to continue to breathe. He'd spent over eighteen years breathing- bar those twenty seconds when he'd been dead but he preferred not to think about that- so it made sense for breathing to be the easiest thing in the world to do. Everyone else seemed to manage it just fine. Yet stood on a balcony with Draco Malfoy, he couldn't seem to convince any air to enter his lungs.

"I-"

"Harry! You've got a floo call," Lavender yelled, cutting him off.

It wasn't uncommon for Harry to get floo calls to the common room, the Ministry seemed to have decided he was free to call upon at any hour. He _had_ thought he'd explained to Kingsley just how much of an inconvenience it was, and he was certain Kingsley had agreed to stop. So this was either an emergency or reporters had managed to get past the blocks on the floo again.

He offered Malfoy an apologetic smile, certain the relief at being able to delay this conversation was written plain across his face. "I have to get that."

"Of course you do. You're Harry Potter."

Something about the way Draco said his name, the bitterness in his tone, made Harry pause on his way back into the common room. He was used to him being bitter, being resentful towards him. Only this time Draco wasn't aiming his bitterness towards Harry, but rather at the situation that being Harry Potter created. Draco was suddenly at Harry's side, looking into the common room with him. "You were going to answer the floo call, Harry," Draco breathed, something in his voice making a shiver run through Harry's body.

"I... right, yes. The floo." Harry almost sprinted to the fireplace, eager as he was to get away from Draco, with his voice like silk and a smile that caused Harry's head to spin.

The head resting in the fireplace belonged to a person Harry was more than familiar with.

"Andromeda! What's wrong? Is it Teddy? Has something happened?"

After the war, Harry had been the one to go Andromeda's home. He had gone alone, and alone he had faced her as he told her that her daughter and son-in-law were dead. Teddy Lupin would never have memories of his parents, the baby too young to have developed any. He'd know stories though, Harry had told Andromeda. He would never let the child grow up without knowing exactly who his parents were.

Over the next few days, Andromeda and Teddy had come to stay at the Burrow with the Weasleys, Hermione and a few friends like Minerva. They had only stayed a week, but in that time Harry had made it clear he wanted to be as big a part of Teddy's life as Andromeda would allow, and she had returned the sentiment. They had decided while Teddy would live primarily with Andromeda, once Harry had left school he would take Teddy whenever Andromeda needed a break, or when he wanted to just spend time with his godson. While finishing school, Harry would spend his breaks with the Weasleys at the Burrow, along with Teddy and potentially Andromeda unless she had other plans. On some Hogsmeade weekends they intended to come visit Harry. Floo calls, however, were meant to be reserved for absolute emergencies.

"No dear, it's nothing to worry about," Andromeda said quickly, "Teddy is perfectly fine. I do need to ask a favour of you though."

"Go ahead."

"Can you watch Teddy for the rest of the weekend? I've cleared it with Minerva and she said if you needed any help you're welcome to go see her. I know it's a lot to ask at such short notice but Narcissa has invited me to go to Paris with her for a shopping trip and if we leave now we can spend the night a gorgeous little place she knows."

Andromeda and Narcissa were slowly rebuilding their relationship. It was going to be a long, slow process, but they were both determined to resolve their differences. A weekend away seemed a perfect time to start working on those bonds.

"I er, I think that'll be fine," Harry frowned, turning to look at his classmates. They had all gathered around behind him, making no attempt to hide the fact that they were listening in. At his look they all began to nod eagerly. The girls in particular seemed eager, although Harry had a sneaking suspicion it was less to do with being friendly and more to do with the very cute baby they could coo over. Harry caught sight of Draco stood at the back of the group, expressionless. The boy had had nothing to do with Teddy despite the two being first cousins once removed or something similar. Now would be an excellent time to find out why, Harry decided.

"Are you sending him through or am I going to collect him?"

"It's fine, I'll bring him through. He's very excited to come see you."

Within moments of everyone backing up, Andromeda had stepped through the fire, Teddy clutched in her arms and a bag over one shoulder. Teddy was five months old and had almost no control over his metamorphmagus abilities. His hair and eye colour were the only things he could change at the moment, and the changes were normally triggered by his mood. Right now he was sporting the same brown hair as his grandmother.

Harry grinned at his godson and reached out for him, waiting until he was safely arranged in his arms before taking the bag from Andromeda.

"In there are bottles, some of his toys, his blankets and a few books. If you need anything else Minerva has left the floo connection open so you can get in and get it. I'll be back by Sunday evening, but if you need me before then I've left emergency contacts with Minerva. Poppy knows you're here so if you're worried about anything go see her," Andromeda said, all the while looking anxiously at her grandson.

"Go," Harry laughed, "Narcissa will be waiting. Teddy will be fine with me, wont you babe? We can see how cousin Draco handles you."

Draco spluttered at the mention of his name while Andromeda chuckled. "Well that should be interesting at least. Draco you should use this opportunity to get to know Teddy. Your mother sends her love."

As she spoke Andromeda stepped into the grate, vanishing with a last laugh at the horrified expression Draco was wearing. Once she was gone Harry lifted Teddy so they were eye to eye.

"Well then, in the two weeks we've been apart you've certainly grown! Learnt any new tricks?"

Teddy just gurgled before inserting a fist into Harry's mouth, eyes turning to green. Lavender had found some muggle games and was trying to persuade everyone to play Twister, enlarging the mat so it was big enough for them all. Harry sat it out, laying on his stomach on the mattress with Teddy near his head, the infant switching between watching Harry and watching the people playing. Draco had also sat out, and Harry was unsurprised when he ended up sat on Harry's other side.

"How old is it?"

"He," Harry corrected, rolling his eyes at Teddy. "He has a name Draco."

"Teddy then. How old is he?"

"Five months."

"Can he talk yet?"

"Nope. Gurgles, laughs, doesn't talk."

"Can he walk yet?"

"He's only just got the hang of sitting up, give him a few weeks."

"Well then what can he do?" Draco asked, sounding baffled as he examined the child with a critical eye.

"I told you, he can laugh. He can hold a bottle, he can sit up, he's starting to learn that dropping things results in them being picked and finds _that_ game terribly amusing. He likes noises too. The noisier the better."

"Good thing he's here then, noisy buggers that lot," Draco said, gesturing at the ongoing Twister game. Ron was currently entangled with Luna, Neville and Daphne, twisted in such an odd position that Harry was uncertain whether he had any feelings left in his limbs.

Harry lifted Teddy and turned to sit opposite Draco, holding him out. "Hold him."

"No."

"Draco."

"Don't take that tone with me Potter, I am not holding that snivelling little creature."

"Oh so it's back to Potter now is it?"

"You're trying to get me to hold that _thing_ so yes. Potter."

"He's a baby_ Malfoy_ he's not going to hurt you! Or are you scared?"

"What? I'm not scared of that bratty thi- Oh wait a minute. You're trying to trick me."

"Clever, now hold him."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"HOLD HIM!"

"I DON'T WANT TO!"

"Will you both please stop fighting, you're worse than a married couple on gillyweed!" Ginny yelled, causing Harry and Draco to turn to her with matching expressions of outrage.

"He started it!" They chorused.

"I don't care who started it, so help me if you both don't stop this instant I will march right over there and curse you to hell and back."

Ginny both looked and sounded frightfully like Molly Weasley when angry. The boys fell silent, and satisfied she returned to her game. Once they were certain she wasn't coming back, they looked at one another for a second before giggling. Teddy stared up at them for a moment before giggling too, not wanting to be left out.

"Draco, please just take the baby."

Reluctantly the Slytherin reached out and picked Teddy up, arranging him in his lap while wrinkling his nose. "Why does this matter to you so much?"

"I wanted to prove that you have a heart."

Draco had no reply to that, and instead busied himself with making sure the baby wasn't drooling on him.

xoxoxox

"Harry if you don't shut that baby up so help me I will gag him myself!" Blaise groaned, burying his face into a pillow. It was four a.m and now that everyone had decided they wanted to sleep, Teddy had decided to start crying.

"Sorry, sorry, I'll take him into the dorm. Put some silencing spells up," Harry advised, trying to pick up the contents of Teddy's bag while also holding the child. A sigh from behind him had Harry looking up, and he was surprised to find Draco gathering up the various toys and books.

"I'll follow you in with this stuff."

Harry nodded, too grateful for any help to argue. "Thanks."

After the game of Twister, Draco had handed Harry back Teddy and had joined in the various games going on around the room. No one had commented on the fact Draco had willingly held a child. They knew that he'd curse them before he admitted it to anyone anyway. Yet here he was, following Harry into the boy's dormitory with arms full of toys and books for said child.

Harry was sat on his bed with Teddy resting against his chest, sobbing. For a few seconds Draco hovered, clearly at a loss for what to do before giving in and sitting on the bed with them.

"Why is he crying?"

"If I knew that we wouldn't be in here with a crying baby."

"Well what could it be?"

"I don't know! He's been fed and he doesn't need changing. He's not too hot or too cold. Mmmfdraghissh."

That last part Draco couldn't make out head or tails of, but that was unsurprising given Harry had a mouth full of fist again.

"Why does he do that? The fist thing."

Gently easing Teddy's hand out of his mouth, Harry rocked the baby back and forth with a sigh. "It's a comfort thing, I don't really know why. Some babies just do it and it helps soothe them."

"Babies are weird." Draco decided, shaking his head.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at that, although he sounded borderline hysterical. He was tired, and cranky and Teddy wasn't helping matters. The pressure against his chest vanished, and Harry was startled to see Draco cradling the baby to him. "Hey hey, easy there little man," he murmured. "Poor Harry's exhausted and you crying isn't doing anything to make things better. What's wrong? I think you're just being a tired little cranky pants."

Gobsmacked seemed the best description for Harry at that moment. A rustling beside him reminded Harry of the purple sock, and he rifled through his drawer to find the little creature. "Hey Teds look at this."

Teddy fell silent as he watched the sock wriggling around the bed, before promptly throwing up in Draco's lap. Harry quickly took Teddy and mopped him up while Draco went fishing for new pyjama pants, looking outraged.

"See this is why I don't like babies."

"Yeah well he's not crying anymore so-"

Whatever Harry had been about to say completely vanished from his mind like he had been obliviated. Standing in front of him was Draco Malfoy, clad only in his top and a pair of very nicely fitting boxer shorts.

Dinosaur boxer shorts.

Harry wanted to laugh at the absurdity, but Draco happened to have very nice legs. Very very nice legs. And um, certain other areas were also _very_ nice. He needed a new adjective. And to close his mouth.

"Nice shorts."

Draco had the decency to blush, before cuffing Harry around the head. "Shut up, my mother bought them me and Blaise has hidden a load of my normal ones."

"Sure he has, Dino Draco," Harry teased. "Ron's going to love this."

One second Harry was sat on the bed with Draco stood in front of him –Teddy lying on his blanket on the floor with the sock for entertainment- and the next he was on his back on the bed with Draco kneeling over him.

"You listen to me Harry Potter. If you ever tell _anyone_ this I promise I will make this last year at Hogwarts a living hell."

"Is that a wand in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?" Taunted Harry, falling back on one of the truly terrible pick up lines Seamus had spent the majority of fourth year coming up with.

Draco leapt off him and scowled. "You suck."

"Only if you ask nicely."

Wait, when had that voice in Harry's head taken over? More importantly, why in the name of Godric was he _flirting_ with Draco Malfoy?

For a minute Draco seemed shocked, and then he was laughing as he pulled on some pyjama pants. "That was a very lame attempt, Harry Potter. I expected better from you."

"Sorry to disappoint. Maybe you could teach me to do better," Harry winked, before promptly covering his face with a yelp. Okay someone had put a spell on him. That was the only explanation.

Draco didn't comment further, which surprised Harry a little. He had expected either a flirty response or to be teased mercilessly. Not silence. "Your godson is getting sleepy," he said finally, sitting back on the bed with Harry and lifting Teddy up with his blanket. There was a larger distance between them now, and Harry was shocked by how much that hurt. Had he done something wrong?

"You could read him a story. He likes the one about the twelve dancing princesses."

"A muggle fairytale?" Draco guessed, picking up the book with a raised eyebrow.

Harry nodded, a flicker of amusement passing over his features as he listened to Draco read a _muggle_ story to his cousin. Teddy was out within the first three pages, but Draco kept reading and Harry kept listening until they too fell asleep, the three wrapped one another on the bed. Everything was quiet and seemingly peaceful until Ron went to check on them in the morning.

"Harry what the bloody hell are you doing spooning Malfoy?"

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><p><strong>Next chapter: Harry has to explain things not only to Ron, but to himself, and when Teddy gets cranky and Ginny suggests Harry and Draco bake you just know things are going to go wrong. Can there be any enjoyment from this turn of events?<strong>

**Reviews would make my day, I love to hear what you guys think! If you have any ideas or prompts let me know, I'll see if I can work them in.**


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